hauntedHaunted
Eileen Maksym
April 25
th, 2013
Reviewed by Stuart Conover

In Haunted we are treated to Eileen Maksym’s debut novel and the introduction of the Society for Paranormal Researchers. I almost didn’t open it with an author I hadn’t heard of using the name ‘Haunted’ as their title but I looked past it. While it can be described as a paranormal romance, thankfully the romance part doesn’t eclipse the very fun and well written story. (I know, half of the readers want the romance, half want the ghosts.) I was recommended this by a friend who loves paranormal romances but knows that I’m only interested in half of that concept. They recommended wisely!

The group we meet is made up of Tara Martin, Steven Trent, and Paul Stratton. These three are students at a New England university that just happen to hunt ghosts in their free time. They haven’t had much luck so far but when a local couple are trying to sell their house, which also happens to be haunted, they can’t help but investigate.

Only when the haunting turns real and a ghost barges in and puts Tara in mortal danger do things get a lot more serious than they had been expecting. Even with their love of the paranormal they are just as skeptical as the majority of us and their passion is more of a joke to others than anything else.

With Tara in danger it’s up to her friends to save her life but the question is, can they?

A truly enjoyable ghost tale, Eileen has taken the idea of the modern ghost hunter (equipment and techniques included), the joke that they have often become due to reality television shows, and actually made it a fun ghost novella. I’m curious as to if there will be a follow up to this one and while I preferred the actual tale over the love story that was included, it wasn’t overbearing or took away from the plot like all too many paranormal romances tend to be.